Pain Management: Part 6 (Return to the new normal)

Remember my arm? It still hurts.

While dealing with all of the above -- the antibiotics, the Home Depot, the crankiness, the pain -- yes indeed, I start feeling dampness below the place where the tube inserts into my chest wall.  Like, my tube is leaking.  I have felt this on and off for the last few days and now it's happening when I'm not moving or stretching too much.

Not good.  No bueno.  For the second time now I call my doctor's office.  Hiya remember me?  Yes, the pain is still there, AND I'm now leaking. Hmmmm.  This is kind of a problem.  I need to come in before the end of the day.  So I round up Spencer, he drives me up there, I go on in, my doctor's assistant fixes the tube, puts some new gauze on me and says oh, yeah, regarding the iboprofen/acetaminophen idea? the doctor says that sometimes the pain just doesn't respond.  And then she writes me a prescription, a physical handwritten non-fax, non-voice mail, prescription for Percoset.  (Remember Percoset?)  Just take some of this, she says.  No need to really be that uncomfortable.

Alrighty then.


I tell the whole sad story to the pharmacist at our regular wonderful caring Ralph's Pharmacy down on Garfield.  He says, wow, that's quite a step down from Percoset to Ibuprofen.  I'm like, all, tell me about it.  He hands me the vial, says there are 30 in there, and really, truly, I should just go home and take it easy.  It was the most compassionate phrase, and the most logical and straightforward interaction, I'd had all day.

So.  Here we are at the end of the day.  I'd say the whole day could be categorized as one big huge  "Unavoidable Other."  (Or, was all the back and forth avoidable?  I don't know.  I really don't.)  Body points?  Well, I'm no longer leaking, so there's that.  Soul points?  Salvaged by a terrific dinner procured by Roger from Carmine's followed by a whole family viewing of Fantastic Mr. Fox.  And some great moments wedged in between.  Driving around with Spencer, picking up Taylor at the train station, running through good names for the new blog.  So, oddly enough, there was a lot of soul going on today.  Just in the most unlikely moments.

Mind points?  I think I lost all of them for the entire week.

And... I did come home.  I did take Percoset.  I did manage to enjoy the movie.  But my arm?  Still hurts, baby.